There is money to be made.
The Commissioner of Baseball, Rob Manfred, is open to the idea of having Major League Baseball players participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics. Manfred and the Major League Baseball Players Association are committed to growing the baseball industry globally while the baseball game popularity in the United States continues to plummet. But would shutting down the game for about 10 days in the middle of summer so that baseball could compete with table tennis, which draws huge numbers of viewers in China, or cricket, which will be a ratings bonanza in India and Pakistan, or women’s gymnastics, which is another big ratings draw, be worth it for baseball?
Manfred may or may not have noticed this but the ‘s. It is possible that MLB’s biggest attention grabber this summer was a badly performed American National Anthem prior to the Home Run Hitting Contest as part of the All Star Game festivities. Baseball already has an international contest, the World Baseball Classic. Of course, MLB owners and the players association would seriously consider being part of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the two sides think there is a pot of gold waiting for them in the Summer Olympics. But there now becomes another question. Would MLB prioritize the Olympics over its regular season, playoffs and its crown jewel event, the World Series? The answer is yes, for the moment, because there is money to be made. It is all about money, nothing else.
Evan Weiner’s books are available at iTunes – https://books.apple.com/us/author/evan-weiner/id595575191
Evan can be reached at evan_weiner@hotmail.com
